May 2016

We just found out about a really neat piece of software for Canon DSLRs. Called LooZ, it lets you see and record what you're light painting as you light paint it, taking the guesswork out of complex light painting creations and letting you share the final process in video form.

General consensus seems to be that your smartphone's flash is mostly useless, but the "Flens" wants to change all that. The tiny magnetic "flash lens" supposedly boosts the power of your smartphone's flashlight by a full order of magnitude: 10x.

After leaked photos of Canon's first EF-M macro lens appeared online yesterday, we told you to "stay tuned" because we'd likely see an official announcement before long. Less than 24 hours later, we have the official announcement! …

In mid-April 2016, a series of powerful earthquakes struck the Kumamoto region of southern Japan. A number of major camera companies have important operations in that area, and now, weeks later, those companies are still working recover from the disaster.

Mercury just passed between the Earth and the Sun yesterday, a rare "planetary transit" that occurs about 13 times every 100 years. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft shot highly detailed photos of the astronomical event, and the beautiful time-lapse above is what resulted.

Every year, around the beginning of April, I find myself getting lost in the emotions I felt after witnessing and photographing the aftermath of the explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon in 2013.

The film simulation software company Really Nice Images has launched a new iPhone camera app called RNI Flashback. While the app is yet another film simulation app in a market saturated with them, it aims to stand out by adding randomness to the equation.

My name is Jerm Cohen and I'm a portrait photographer based in NYC. I just got back from my first Kentucky Derby, where I made a series of portraits of the people there.

Over the past couple of decades, CMOS sensors have come to dominate the digital photography landscape thanks to their increasing quality and falling costs. If you're unfamiliar with the differences between CMOS and CCD sensors, CEI-Europe has created a helpful infographic that compares the two technologies.

I'm an avid camera and gear hoarder, but not the new stuff... I prefer the classics. I usually go to antique stores, thrift shops, etc. in hopes of finding a real gem. That's exactly what happened last week.

The last time you had or saw road rage, did you post to Instagram about it? If you did, you might have ended up a statistic in a recent report on road rage released by The Auto Insurance Center.

It seems Olympus will soon take its 'Tough' series of point-and-shoots in a new direction. A leaked product photo gives us a first look at what many suspect will be the company's first "Tough" action camera.

I do a lot of product photography and there are two places I go to when I need to prepare supplies for a shoot: one is the hardware store to get some tiles and the other is our local bookstore/art/office supply store.

Despite rumors that Sony might release "the first mirrorless medium format camera," there is actually a medium format mirrorless camera already in existence. But you may not want to pick up the 100MP Phase One ALPA; it turns out it's a royal pain to actually... you know... use.

In this post, I'll be sharing how I shoot light painting photos using a 4-foot fluorescent tube protector. The technique is quite simple and can lead to very interesting results.

Pentax fans have been waiting for the full-frame K1 with bated breath, and the first impressions coming out of the review community seem to indicate they haven't been holding their breath for nothing. In fact, a new test report claims the K1's dynamic range can compete with medium format!

As video games become more and more realistic, some artists have made names for themselves by shooting artistic in-game photographs (AKA screenshots). Now NVIDIA wants to bring in-game photography to the masses: the graphics company just announced "Ansel," a new virtual photography tool that's ready to appear in many future games.

We reported back in May 2015 that Yongnuo was developing a Nikon counterpart to its cheap 50mm f/1.8 Canon lens. The lens quietly became available recently over on eBay, and the price tag is $82.

Phoxi Friends is a line of cute photography tools designed for those who shoot portraits of kids. Each eye-catching creature features a long tail and the ability to wrap, extend, and squeak.

The selfie. Generally maligned by anyone older than 30 as a narcissistic (and sometimes dangerous) pursuit, the selfie has become enmeshed with all forms of Millenial self-expression. The younger generation isn’t content to just photograph their surroundings, they need to be present in the image or video to enhance the authenticity.

GoPro has released the first sample footage shot using its new Omni virtual reality camera rig, which combines views from 6 separate cameras to create an immersive 360-degree video experience.

In a world filled with tutorials and workshops and webinars and so much free educational content it could make your head spin, the mentor-mentee relationship is too-often relegated to the "unnecessary" bin. But getting a photography mentor can be one of the most important steps you ever take in your career.

When capturing a portrait, eyeglasses can be a really reflective pain. Fortunately, photographer and educator Scott Kelby put together a quick tutorial that'll show you two ways to fix this issue in Photoshop.

Photographer Brice Portolano's project No Signal is all about documenting the lives of people who have chosen to live "off-the-grid." People like the subject of his first photo essay in the project who lives 180 miles away from the nearest town, raising sled dogs in the northern Finnish wilderness.

I know we all wish there was that one magic tutorial which would take our photography to the next level. And we also get frustrated when we try a technique for the first time and it doesn’t go as planned. It would be great if things were simple, wouldn’t it?

Two of the most influential gadgets of all time, as declared a few days ago by TIME magazine, are cameras—two gadgets that "changed the course of technology for good." One of them even made the top 10.

If you're a photojournalist (or even just a lover of great photojournalism) this video may just be a 'must watch.' Recorded earlier today during a Facebook live stream, the video lets you sit down next to the New York Times photo editors as they sift through and curate their "Week in Pictures" feature that will go live on the Lens blog tomorrow.

Instagram's version of a Facebook Page might soon be a thing. The company confirmed that it was working on "business profiles" earlier this year, but now screenshots have popped up online that show Instagram is testing these profiles out in the wild.

You may swear by natural light, but sometimes available light just doesn't cooperate. So for those times when you're faced with an overcast sky but need a sunset, or the ambient light is harsh and direct, these tips from photographer Adam Angelides will help you capture natural looking images by combining ambient light with flash.

It was early in 2014, long enough after the introduction of the Leica M (also known as the ‘Typ 240’, or ‘M10’) when I finally bit the bullet and decided to sell my trusty Leica M-E for this newest, rather different digital rangefinder camera from the German niche camera maker.

The passing of Prince gave the world pause to consider the nearly peerless artistic success and untimely death of an iconic musician.

A basic landscape or cityscape photograph is just the beginning for Italian photo manipulation artist and architect Laurent Rosset. It's once he has the pieces in Photoshop that his creations really begin coming to life.

There are a lot of options out there when it comes to buying a cheap, off-brand speedlight. But not all knock-offs are created equal, as photographer Tim Oxton explains in this short video comparing a flash he regrets buying, and one he can't recommend enough.

In December, I went along to my friend Paul’s leaving do. He was departing the UK to live with his family in the US, and was spending his last few weeks visiting friends in Britain and Europe before the big move.